The University of West Florida recently received the final installment of a $100,000 gift from the National Defense Industrial Association, Gulf Coast Chapter, which will establish the NDIA Cybersecurity Scholarship Endowment.

The endowment will provide competitive scholarships for upper-level UWF students majoring in computer science with a cybersecurity specialization and a minimum GPA of 3.0.

“The University of West Florida is extremely fortunate to have generous, thoughtful and innovative partners like the NDIA, Gulf Coast Chapter,” said Dr. Meredith Brunen, interim vice president for university advancement. “We are grateful for their foresight in establishing a scholarship endowment that will afford future generations of UWF students the opportunity to further their education and prepare them for the professional careers of tomorrow.”

The Bachelor of Science in Computing and Information Sciences, with a specialization in cybersecurity, prepares graduates to lead in the protection of data assets and analysis of potential threats to systems and networks. The curriculum focuses on the techniques, policies, operational procedures and technologies that secure and defend the availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and nonrepudiation of information and information systems in local and broadly based domains. The major prepares students for careers as information systems security professionals, senior systems managers and systems administrators responsible for information systems and security of those systems.

“The National Defense Industrial Association has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the University of West Florida in promoting STEM careers and STEM education,” said Mary Ward, president of the National Defense Industrial Association, Gulf Coast Chapter. “Establishing an endowment for cybersecurity scholarships is a natural fit with NDIA’s mission to provide solutions to advance the national security and defense needs of the nation.